Of Sparrows and Souls
by Lei'Ev
Summary: Sarah has returned to the Underground but not because of Jareth or his Labyrinth. In fact, he doesn't know she's there and that's the point. She has started anew and is living happily with her new friends until a certain Goblin King shows up.
1. Authors Note Update Again

Ok, giving this another try. I think I have most of the story line worked out so it's just a matter of typing it all out. I apologize if there are any consistency issues. I'm doing my best to keep things connected I promise. As per usual, I appreciate your feedback. Thanks much! Hopefully updates should come rather quickly.

Disclaimer!!! I don't own Labyrinth, Jareth, David Bowie, Sarah, or the Underground. Despite my fervent wishes and countless letters to Santa I'm still SOL. Thanks!


	2. Chapter One

Drip... Drip... Drip...

Sarah listened to the rain outside the shop window as she stared absentmindedly into space, her work forgotten on her lap. She had come a long way since the Labyrinth, which she had convinced herself was a fantastic dream.

Within a week of her "episode" she had diligently packed away her books and toys to be given to charity, replaced the frilly canopy and childish sheets on her bed with sterile white cotton, and had painted her room a dreary but sensible shade of beige.

She had gotten herself a job at a local bookshop that had recently opened and began to set money away for college. The owner was a nice man of about 65 named Al. He had opened the shop to "retire" in a nice town far from the city having originally lived in New York and he was more than happy to have the extra help. Sarah would stop by for a few hours ever night after school. She even spent every Saturday morning cataloging the books.

Time passed but unfortunately for Sarah, it did not bring her good things.

Shortly after her graduation, Toby was in a car accident and had to go through several strenuous surgeries. As the stress from this weighed upon Sarah it also weighed upon her father's marriage to Toby's mother. Karen had decided that it was for the better and packed up and moved back to California to be with her mother taking Toby with her. After the medical bills and the divorce both Sarah's father and his funds were exhausted leaving him broken and Sarah seemingly futureless. While she was happy with her job and she was not resentful, she had longed to go to college and see the world.

And so here she sat, in the familiar, worn, red-velvet armchair that sat behind the counter and next to the window of her beloved bookstore watching the rain cascade silently down the glass panes. Shaking her head she shifted her attention back to the calculator and paperwork in her lap. She punched numbers with the end of her pencil and scribbled figures down as she had hundreds of time before. Sarah now did most of the ordering, stocking, accounting, and other paperwork for the store and enjoyed it. It was calculated and exact and everything worked with checks and balances and for some reason that made Sarah happy.

"Sarah, are you in there?"

Sarah looked up, startled. She had completely missed Al walk in and take off his coat. She glanced at her watch and, sure enough, it read 8:15, on time as usual. On time being fifteen minutes late, of course.

She shook herself back to reality and replied. "Sorry, I just dozed off for a sec."

Al nodded thoughtfully and proceeded to shake the rain from his umbrella as he spoke, "you seem to be doing that more often these days, Sarah, perhaps you need a change. Why don't you go on vacation?"

Sarah smiled wryly and looked back down at her work doodling little circles on the corner of her paper. "That is the last thing that I need. You know this job is all I've got, and rent sure as hell doesn't pay itself," she muttered the last part to herself.

Al looked at Sarah disapprovingly but spoke nothing more on the matter. He simply continued the conversation by regaling her with his experiences of past vacations, spinning some wild story about staying in a castle in the mountains with a lovely and mysterious woman named Ellanora who taught him how to read crystals and look into peoples souls. He always had imaginative stories to tell. Sometimes about a group of gristly men who took him traveling, sometimes about having to overcome great obstacles to rescue innocent girls from danger, but mostly he loved to speak of his sweet Ellanora and always with an overly dramatic and slightly wistful voice.

Later that day, after having been cheered considerably by Al's tales, Sarah was standing in the doorway to the stock room with her hands on her hips in determination. The room was absolutely bursting with cardboard boxes and piles of manila files and old newspapers and other odds and ends. She had been meaning to clean it out for ages and with the new order of books she had just sent for they would sorely need the space. So she rolled up her sleeves, sent Al out to the post office and to get some lunch, and got down to it. Within the hour she had two piles of boxes, one with what would go back into the room and another considerably larger pile of what would end up on the curb. As she pulled out the last few boxes she wrinkled her nose up in confusion and inspected the contents of one box. She lifted several older leather-bound books of various colors from their encasement in cardboard before the color drained from her face. In fact, the shade of her face was comparable to the very pages of the book that so perturbed her. She dropped the books in her hands and carefully, hesitantly lifted another book from the box...

...And promptly screamed.

* * *

Sarah was sitting on the counter staring accusingly at the box as Al walked back into the shop. Though she felt like running away, or screaming again, or passing out, she just sat there, very calmly, and waited for Al to come back and explain.

So when he walked in, she spoke without removing her gaze from where it was focused when she began her questions. "Al," she started slowly and deliberately, "What the hell are those?"

Al followed her eyes and found the box of books. He walked over to them and picked one up, fingering the gold inlay thoughtfully. It was a long time before he spoke.

"Sarah," he started, placing the books down on a table, "I assume you've had a run in with some portion of the Underground due to your reaction. Though I can't figure what could have you so shaken-up..." He paused when he noticed her reaction.

She had closed her eyes and was shaking her head vehemently as Al spoke. Only when he placed his hand on her shoulder did she regain some of her composure. She opened her eyes and took a deep breath before she spoke.

"It wasn't real... I dreamed it... my things, they, I must have just dreamed it," she spoke desperately and though she looked at Al her voice was distant as if she was trying to convince herself.

Al nodded knowingly and sat down in the armchair next to Sarah as he spoke.

"Well," he said resolutely, "then I think I have some explaining to do. Are you ready for this Sarah?"

Seemingly stirred from her reverie she looked Al square in the eye and nodded determinedly.


	3. Chapter Two

Two years had passed since Sarah had come to the Underground. After her discovery of the books that collectively contained the better part of the Underground's history, Al had spent the better part of the night giving Sarah an explanation.

Al was not from New York. He was from the Underground. In fact, he wasn't really Al at all. He was Algernon of the Lleyn Mountain Valleys. After deciding that he needed a rest from his exuberant life, it was requested of him, having spent many years as a bookkeeper and writer for the High Court, that he come to the Aboveground to spread the tales of the kingdoms.

Belief in the Underground was dwindling and because its existence is dependant on such beliefs he accepted and came armed with books regarding all of the kingdoms and their folklore. Obviously the books were of magical origin and were not as simple as any mortal might imagine.

It should be thus noted that when there is any talk of magic around those of non-magical decent, great care must be taken. While some belief is necessary for the kingdoms to thrive, too much can be a dangerous thing. The whole of the Underground could not risk having peoples' experiences getting out without endangering themselves and having a horde of people trying to take advantage of their world. So with special care each book was written and cast with charms so that for each person who reads them the story is slightly different. Each book pulls from the person elements that are familiar to him or her and places them in its pages. So, should the person go so far as to touch the Underground in some way, after the fact, they can easily convince themselves (or more importantly others) of it having been a dream or a hallucination.

That part of the puzzle said, Sarah had taken a long time to grasp it as truth. It all seemed to make sense, for she knew better than anyone how easily it was to think it was just a dream. After all, hadn't she seen her own toys come to life? Didn't she spend hours staring into her impossible-looking posters? Had she not surrounded herself with things that reminded her of her favorite story? Hadn't she bought a statue of an otherworldly man, and a miniature labyrinth?

But despite Al's explanation she still took a fair while to accept it. After minutes of stunned silence though, she was eager to hear the rest of the story.

Al spared no expense as what he told her began to focus on the actual content of the stories. With dramatic expression and voice he began to tell of the experiences of his youth. He told of his friends the dwarves of the Lleyn Mines and of his love the Lady Ellanora, princess of the Great Mountains, but when he told of a kingdom called the Western Valleys, he paused.

As the grandfather figure that he was he had once again expressed his concern for Sarah and now that she had been told more of the Underground he had made a suggestion to her. He had mentioned that he was close with the young king and that for Sarah's own good perhaps she should go and stay with him a while, as a vacation.

She had strongly declined at first but after a bit more persuasion she agreed after having secured several details of her venture. One was that she may return at any point in time, even if at a moments notice if she so choose. Second was that her previous visit would not be discussed openly so as to avoid any confrontation with The Goblin King or his subjects. While she did not hold his actions against him she did not know how he would react to her presence. She figured that it would be best if she just ignored that particular attribute of the Underground. She was also unconsciously scared to death of him, but that's not important.

And now Sarah sat on the window ledge in King Thevlin's study and stared out across the green and sunlit valleys, which gave this kingdom its name, reminiscing. She had stepped foot into this kingdom for the first time nearly two years ago and now, at the age of twenty-two, she was finally happy… or at least she had convinced herself she was. Thevlin had received her into his home with open arms and she was forever grateful. It wasn't long before she wished to repay him. She had taken to helping him copy documents and then moved on to organizing his extensive library and now she worked as Assistant to the King, which was really just a fancy way of saying that she dealt with all the trading, communications, and diplomatical agreements with surrounding kingdoms. All in all it worked out quite well considering the king's lack of flare for facts and overzealous appreciation for flirting and schmoozing said royalty.

"Sarah!"

And then there was Adeline, Sarah's assistant and best friend. Adeline was Thevlin's cousin and had come to stay in the castle when Sarah had arrived so that she wouldn't feel so lonely, that and obviously she wanted an excuse to get out of her own home. As she never let Sarah forget, her parents were atrocities.

"Sarah, are you still working? It's almost time for dinner and you're not even dressed!" Adeline admonished as she sauntered into the room. She was one of those girls who never walked but glided everywhere she went with an endless amount of innocent beauty. The young men of the court were always chasing after her but she just flitted away and paid them no attention.

Sarah sighed and folded up the parchments on her lap. As much as she hated to admit it, she was a workaholic and if Adeline wasn't there to make sure she ate and slept and looked decent she would probably live in this library.

"Yes, alright I'm coming…" she muttered. "Where's Thevlin? Is he back from the summit yet?"

Adeline flopped languidly onto a chase lounge near the fireplace. "Oh he got a back a little while ago, all worked up over some girl he met while he was away. A Lady Jasmine or some sort." She snorted and stood up with an exaggerated curtsy, "hello King Devlin, It's a pleasure to meet your royal acquaintance." Adeline fluttered her eyelashes for a moment before both of them burst into uncontrollable giggles and left for dinner.

* * *

Jareth paced his study and listened to his advisor, Orion, speak.

"Sire, while at the summit it was brought to my attention that your brother Thevlin has let his work run away with him, or rather he has run away from his work. It seems as though that for quite some time he has a left his assistants, a Lady Adeline and a Lady Sparrow, to do the majority of his trading and business relations between his kingdom and those surrounding his. Not surprisingly they've been able to do a better job at it than he has. However," Orion continued as she glanced at the papers in his hands over the tops of his glasses, "however, for our own interests I think we should intervene. It is unbecoming of a king not to run his own kingdom and it's time he learned that."

Jareth paused to sigh as his advisor finished. As much as he hated to admit it, Orion was right. It seemed as though he was in for an extended visit with his little brother.

"Very well, I'm sure you will do well to keep things under control here. Have my things readied, I will leave at dawn," Jareth instructed as he left the room.


	4. Chapter Three

Sarah yawned and stretched her arms languidly over her head. Golden light streamed through the windows of her bedroom. In truth, this was one of her favorite things about the room.

She had been very generously awarded a lavish apartment in the south wing of the palace when she first arrived. She had protested but after seeing some of the other, even more elaborate apartments of the castle, she gave in.

This particular room of her apartment was her favorite as it opened on three sides to a large wrap-around balcony that overlooked a vast clear blue lake on the castle grounds. In the morning, when the sun woke her and warmed the room she could go out and see into the depths of the lake like a giant smooth sapphire set into the valley floor.

This room also afforded her a beautiful mahogany vanity with an antique mirror opposite a large canopy bed of the same material. In the room just behind this one was a small sitting area good for taking tea with Adeline or catching up on paperwork after dinner. On either side of the sitting room were two doors. One lead to her closet that contained far more clothes than Sarah even cared to wear. The other lead to her bathroom tastefully furnished with all the standard bathroom amenities and one not so standard extra deep tub, because really, why not?

Aside from that particular splurge on her part, Sarah had decorated the rest of the apartment in varying shades of gray. Adeline thought this was depressing and desperately tried to talk Sarah out of it but Sarah found it clean and uncomplicated and that suited her just fine.

Sarah rose and got ready for the day. She picked a plain dress of deep green linen and went to the bathroom to wash and change. As usual, by the time she was finished, Adeline was lounging on Sarah's bed ready to harass the poor girl about her appearance.

Adeline made a disapproving click with her tongue as Sarah stepped into the room.

"Is _that_ what you plan on wearing?"

Sarah crossed the room to the vanity and looked herself up and down in the mirror. She shrugged and replied "Yup, this is what I plan on wearing. Why, is that a problem?"

Sarah knew very well as she began to brush the tangles out of her hair that there was a problem.

Adeline scoffed. "Well," she started, "It's just so…"

"Tasteful?" Sarah countered.

"…boring!" Adeline exclaimed. Sarah rolled her eyes and Adeline slid off the bed and walked over to her. "Honestly Sarah, no wonder you can't get a man. Or should I say, no wonder you can't get yourself a certain man, one with a habit for charming the pants off of young shallow noble women perhaps?"

Sarah opened her mouth to protest and Adeline scurried across the room in a fit of giggles when instead of a rebuke she found Sarah's hairbrush aimed at her. Regardless though, Sarah merely smiled and soon found herself arm in arm with Adeline, on their way to breakfast.

* * *

Sarah was more than anxious for breakfast to be over. She hadn't even made it through her orange juice when Thevlin began to regale the girls on his exploits at the summit. Adeline tried in vain to change the subject by asking about the policies that Thevlin was suppose to be at the summit to discuss but he simply made a joke about having had "other" policies to attend to. While Thevlin did have particular interests that upset his priorities, he really was a nice guy, if a bit shallow.

This is why, when he was called from the table unexpectedly Sarah and Adeline exchanged glances and sighed with relief. They made small talk and finished their food before heading to the library to get some work done.

However, what they didn't know was that there would be very little work completed that day.

They stepped through the library doors to find their desks in disarray. A small balding man was shuffling papers and files around while muttering to himself some nonsense about goblins having better organization skills.

"Excuse me," Sarah said as she rushed over. 'Who are you and what in the name of the Underground do you think you're doing?"

Exasperated, the man turned and looked at both women. He seemed to falter a moment but quickly regained himself and straightened his glasses.

"I am Theodore, Royal Bookkeeper and Assistant to the King and I am readying things for His Highness." The man, Theodore, spoke as if this was the most common knowledge in the world. He then turned back to the desk and resumed rifling through the stacks of papers.

Adeline and Sarah exchanged glances. Sarah had been here long enough to know the rest of Thevlin's staff and she had never seen this man, not to mention the fact that he claimed to hold the position that she herself had held for the last two years. So if this man wasn't the assistant under Thevlin…

But Sarah's thoughts were cut short as Thevlin's voice floated in from the hallway. But he wasn't alone. There were two sets of footsteps and they were headed this direction. Worse than that was when the second man spoke…

…and Sarah recognized the voice. The voice belonged to a certain other king. She knew that eventually they would have to meet but she had at least assumed she would have some sort of notice.

She barely had time to slip behind Adeline who made to protest but was silenced by the men stepping into the room.

Thevlin desperately tried to keep Jareth's attention away from the girls and Sarah took the opportunity to make a dash for one of the shelves a few feet behind her.

Unfortunately for her, in situations such as these, that never works.

"And who might you be?"

Sarah froze with her back to rest of the room. Her breath caught in her throat and she squeezed her eyes shut as if that would help. She could hear behind her Thevlin introducing Adeline but she knew she would have to face him sooner or later. Sarah braced herself with fake confidence and a deep breath and spun around.

"You?"

A look of confusion quickly passed over Jareth's eyes but it was even more swiftly clouded by dark anger.

"What is _she_ doing here?"

Jareth glared accusingly at Thevlin and seemed to be actively trying to avoid eye contact with Sarah. Thevlin attempted to explain but Jareth cut him off.

"What are you trying to pull bringing her here? You planned this, just to spite me, didn't you!"

At this Sarah scoffed.

She glared daggers at Jareth and spat, "Don't flatter yourself."

Sarah pushed her way out of room but only made it a few yards before a large object obscured her path and sent her sprawling back onto the floor. She forcefully shook the hair from her eyes only to find them looking up at the very man she wished to avoid.

He did not offer her a hand, not that she would have taken it, but instead she pushed herself off the floor and wiped dust from her dress as she spoke.

"You know, people in polite society don't randomly appear out of thin air just to harass innocent bystanders."

Jareth smirked and looked Sarah straight in the eye.

"No, they don't, do they?"

Sarah didn'r know what to say but she didn't have to worry.

She hadn't heard Thevlin approach but he broke the silence. "Jareth, perhaps it would be better if you came back at a later…"

"No," Jareth interrupted. "I'm not going anywhere."

Only now did he takes his eyes off Sarah to look at Thevlin.

"It's about time, little brother, you learned to run your own kingdom instead of leaving it to… others."

Sarah opened her mouth to protest but Adeline intervened.

"Listen," She spoke as she stepped from the library, "you two are both too stubborn for your own good. Neither of you seems to be going anywhere soon so you'll just have to be civil enough to work together. For all our sakes." She looked at both of them like a mother scolding her naughty children. "Alright?"

Sarah shot Jareth a sidelong glance before she spoke, "Fine."

Jareth seemed to take a moment to think it over. He also used this time to look Sarah up and down before he answered.

"Agreed."


	5. Chapter Four

Sarah was fuming. She was in a rare state tearing down the hall, hair flaring behind her, hands balled into fists, and her skits scattering at her feet as she muttered expletives under her breath. Outwardly she was rather put off by a certain Goblin King but as much as she pushed it to the back of her head there was that annoying little voice spouting some nonsense about how she knew it had to happen sooner or later and hadn't she brought this on herself? That voice more than anything fueled her mood though no amount of money or riches could have made her admit that.

Sarah retreated to her rooms and did the only sensible thing she could think of; reorganized her closet.

By the time Adeline found Sarah she was ankle deep in a sea of brown and gray with the occasional island of navy blue or forest green. Though her best friend looked disparagingly at the heaps of dismal dresses and garments she knew Sarah was not in a position to take kindly to any wardrobe advice. Knowing her well enough by now she could tell this was Sarah's way of coping and instead asked how she could help.

Sarah paused her frenzy long enough to direct Adeline back to the library to keep an eye on things. She herself didn't dare show her face but knew that someone should be keeping the order of things. Adeline did as she was asked and Sarah dove back into the deep recesses of her closet.

Several hours later Sarah stood observing her efforts with satisfaction. Her closet was now in pristine condition, everything organized according to color, season, and style. Sarah sighed and flopped gracelessly onto a large lounge chair tucked into one of the corners of her balcony. The sun was high and she could tell that it was just about time for lunch but she wasn't very hungry. In fact, after such a morning she found it difficult to keep her eyes open and rather quickly nodded off, crystal orbs and white lace invading her dreams.

* * *

When she awoke Sarah found that the sun was nearly set over the mountains. The air had cooled and the valley had quieted save for the crickets. Sarah loved this time of day and relished the peace but soon the chill registered and with it the events of the morning. Stepping into her room she found a tray of food and a stack of papers the top of which was a note from Adeline about needing her review and signature. Thankful that she would not need to venture out to appease her now grumbling stomach Sarah settled in for a night of paperwork and skillfully barred all thought of tomorrow.

* * *

Adeline brought a tray of fruit, toast, and coffee to share with Sarah in her sitting room the next morning, skillfully avoiding any conversations beyond her choice of outfit or the weather. Once they finished though Sarah's complexion faded to something akin to skim milk as she squared herself for a confrontation. As much as she would have loved to be anywhere but the library it was her job and she knew that is where she needed to be.

Her worry was in vain however. Upon arriving at the library they found it empty. Unfortunately it was still strewn with papers and stacks of tomes. It seemed that row upon row of books and manuals had been pulled from their places on the numerous oak shelves. Adeline explained that Theodore was well through two whole aisles before she was able to stop him. After surveying the scene they set about the task of returning them to their places.

* * *

"For the fortieth time, it's called the Dewey Decimal System!" Sarah screeched at port little man that stood in front of her with his spectacles dangling on the edge of his nose.

"What does dew have to do with anything? Do you have any idea what moisture can do to items such as these? Hmm?" Theodore countered holding a pile of scrolls in both hands and jabbing them towards her.

"It's a wonder that the whole kingdom isn't backwards with a mess such as this," he said as he turned to place the scrolls in an ever growing pile on the desk.

Sarah threw up her hands and spun on her heel. "I cannot deal with this. He's incorrigible!"

Adeline grabbed Sarah by the shoulders and forced her to take a breath. "Sarah, I will handle this. Go and take a walk in the gardens or something. Clear your head ok?"

Sarah turned and watched Theodore pull books randomly off of the shelf and place them in yet another pile. She didn't like the idea of leaving him here to undo the weeks of work it took to organize the collection in the first place but clearly she was getting nowhere and Adeline was more than capable.

Sarah took Adeline's advice and took a stroll through the gardens next to the lake. The variety of flowers and plants in the garden seemed ever changing and Sarah could spend hours there without noticing. And she did, sitting near the lakeshore skipping stones, picking flowers to take back to her desk, and wandering through the orchards. On her way back, Sarah plucked a shiny red apple off a low hanging branch and tucked in her pocket. Her mood considerably lightened, she wanted to make one last stop before returning to see what kind of mess her library was in.

Sarah cleared the edge of garden and walked into the cool shade of the stable which smelled of oats and hay. Sarah loved that smell and went quickly to the furthest stall.

"Hello, Cinder," Sarah cooed to the charcoal-colored mare. "I've brought you something."

Swiftly she retrieved the apple from her pocket and held in out. The mare sniffed in her direction and stepped forward to accept the treat. Sarah stretched her hand out and stroked the length of the mare's nose as she munched happily away.

Jareth watched the exchange with veiled interest from the door of the stable. It was quite unlike himself to be caught by surprise but seeing Sarah haloed gently by the sunlight streaming through the stable window, smiling brightly at such a simple thing, caused him to pause. The moment was short lived though as Jareth schooled himself back to his usual emotionless façade and lead his horse inside.

Sarah became acutely aware that she was not alone and her newly found good mood was quickly dismissed when she saw who it was. She wiped her hands on her skirt and braced herself for the altercation that was certain to follow.

"My my Sarah, meeting someone for a tryst in the hay?" Jareth quipped at her as he led his horse to an empty stall.

Sarah scowled and shot Jareth daggers. "Listen you pompous son of a b—"

Jareth cut her off "Now then, Sarah, that's no way to treat an old friend, is it?"

Not waiting for a response he disappeared into the stall and began to remove his horse's saddle.

Sarah stared incredulously after him for a second before she quickly followed. "Friend? Friend? Jareth the day that you and I are friends I'll… I will…" Sarah faltered. She usually was rather quick witted but the idea of her and Jareth being friends had her rather flustered.

The Goblin King paused and leaned against the stable wall and crossed his arms over his chest, a rather amused smirk played across his features. "You'll do what, Sarah dear?"

Sarah narrowed her eyes, clearly not amused. "We are not, nor will we ever be, friends. Got it?"

The smirk of Jareth's face faded and was replaced by a rather serious expression. He took a step towards Sarah but as he did their attention was drawn to the stable door where Thevlin road up and was loudly proclaiming something or another. Sarah put several more steps of distance between them and as Jareth returned to tending his horse he watched as Sarah flattened her stray hairs and straightened her skirts while Thevlin lingered in the doorway speaking to the stable hand. Jareth saw the way she looked at him and scowled.

"Sarah!" Thevlin called as he expertly dismounted his horse and handed him off to be tended to, "I have an extremely urgent matter to discuss with you!"

"Of course, anything Thevlin." Sarah replied. "What is it?" She pulled a small notepad and pencil from her skirt pocket and poised herself to make notes, thankful that something actually worth her attention might steal her away from the Goblin King.

"I need you with the utmost haste to send a bouquet of our finest flowers to Lady Margaret and with that a note that reads 'To my darling Lady Margaret, You have captured my heart and I long to see you again,'" all of this the King flourished with hand gestures and sweeping arms.

Sarah sighed dejectedly and scribbled down the instructions. This was really the last thing she wanted to deal with but if it made him happy she would do as he wished. Though she knew how many women he had sent notes and flowers such as these in the past, she couldn't help but hope that someday she would be on the receiving end.

"Of course, right away," Sarah replied as she tucked her note pad back into her pocket.

"Wonderful! I'm off then. There are so many things to be done!" Thevlin stated clasping his hands together and making just as boisterous an exit as his entrance.

Sarah sighed heavily and slumped against one of the posts. It took her another second before she remembered that she was still not alone. She silently chastised herself and though she straightened as quickly as possible she was met with a patronizing smirk from Jareth.

"So, Sarah has her heart set on my baby brother, the eternal womanizer. The boy can barely keep his mind on one woman long enough to learn her name and here you are, pining away for him. How romantic," the Goblin King's voice practically dripped with sarcasm.

"I am not!" Sarah countered, "And Thevlin is very charismatic and a kind and gentle soul. It's no wonder so many women are interested in him. Anyway, it's none of your business," she finished, her composure waning.

Jareth's eyes darkened. "Actually, it is my business, as his brother and as a fellow King and you'll do well to remember that, for you are the one overstepping your bounds."

At that Sarah steeled her face and looked Jareth dead in the eyes. "Don't you condescend to me Goblin King. I bested you once and I'll do it again if I have to. You don't scare me and I am not the little girl that ran your labyrinth and played your games."

With that Sarah stormed out of the stable, kicking dust up to dance in the shafts of light that formed a halo around her just a short while ago. Jareth stared after her and quietly spoke to the dust motes that danced around him. "No, Sarah dear. You most certainly are not."


	6. Chapter Five

AN: Fixed some of the name discontinuities. Hopefully I got all of them. Working on fleshing out my chapters so they are a little longer. Fingers crossed this works. Thanks!

* * *

Sarah could not remember the last time she was this worked up and she did not like it. She spent a fair amount of time just pacing back and forth in her sitting room trying to calm her nerves. Logically she knew that engaging Jareth like that for any length of time would end badly and if she couldn't control the situation she was determined to control her reaction. Staring herself down in the mirror as she wrangled her hair into a strict bun and with all the resolution she could muster, Sarah swore to herself that she would keep her cool around the Goblin King that seemed to bring out the worst in her. No matter how he tried to get a rise out of her she would be remain impassive. No one, Goblin King or not, could miff her, especially if she kept him at arm's length which she had every intention of doing.

This new resolution gave Sarah the will to go back to the library and attempt to sort everything out. Though she was greatly relieved to find that Theodore was nowhere to be seen, she was slightly disappointed to find that Adeline was not there either. Regardless the silence was a welcome relief.

It seemed as though Adeline had made some progress while she had been away so she tucked herself into one the more tenebrous corners of the library and opened the seal of the first scroll on the sizable pile that needed her attention.

* * *

The pendulum of the imposing grandfather clock in the corner sliced through the air silently as Jareth stared into the limply burning fire, or what was left of it. He'd spent a great deal of time contemplating his current predicament. Sarah, his Sarah was here and well in the Underground, and had been for some time apparently. More than that, she was every bit as impetuous and intrepid as he recalled. He had tried in vain to dissolve any memory of her but here she was; his second chance on a silver platter before him. That was assuming, of course, that he hadn't already botched it. No, this would take a great deal more consideration than he first anticipated and he certainly wasn't going to make any headway without earning her trust but it wasn't going to be easy. Not the smallest obstacle of which was his own bruised and smarting pride.

"Trust. Well Trust and friendship go hand in hand," He reasoned with the feeble embers. With a quick nod of his head and equal determination Jareth set off to find Sarah.

Jareth slipped through the cracked door of the library and upon finding it seemingly unoccupied he turned to leave when a slow and wistful melody meandered out from somewhere deep in the stacks.

_Skylark, have you anything to say to me?_

_Can you tell me where my love can be?_

_Is there a meadow in the mist_

_where someone's waiting to be kissed?_

_Skylark, have you seen a valley green with spring?_

_Where my heart_

_can go a journeying_

_over the shadows and the rain_

_to a blossom covered lane._

_And in your lonely flight_

_wonderful music, faint as a willow-the-wisp,_

_crazy as a loon,_

_sad as a gypsy serenading the moon, oh_

_Skylark, I don't know if you can find these things_

_but my heart is riding on your wings_

_so if you see them anywhere_

_won't you lead me there?_

Jareth carefully navigated the shelving and followed the song through the rows upon rows of books to its source. Mesmerized half by the melody and half by the private moment he was now privy to, Jareth himself was caught unawares when Sarah looked up, clearly frazzled.

Her reaction did not last long though. Fully expecting her to fly off the handle Jareth waited patiently for the tantrum to begin but it did not come.

Sarah was indeed startled and for half a second was ready to guard herself with meticulously barbed sarcasm but instead recalled her promise to herself.

"Oh, it's you." Sarah looked back down at her paperwork not even acknowledging her awkward, impromptu talent show.

Jareth, however, was not so quick to follower suit.

"That was lovely. I've never heard that one before," he offered, moving closer to the desk behind which Sarah sat.

She smiled a little and without looking up replied wryly,"Yes, well, they don't call me Sparrow for nothing."

The proverbial light bulb in Jareth's head would have been blinding had it been real.

"You're Lady Sparrow."

Sarah placed the papers she was reading down on the desk and rubbed the bridge of her nose before she spoke. "They had to call me something," she said tiredly, "if I was going to be working with ambassadors and signing papers. Adeline caught me singing in the garden once just after I arrived and gave me the name so as to not… cause undo complications," Sarah finished carefully. She just as carefully avoided looking at Jareth whom she could sense was trying just as hard to make eye contact.

After a moment, when Sarah did lift her eyes she found that Jareth's had drifted miles away. It was a while before either of them spoke.

Jareth sighed heavily and with great sincerity spoke.

"Was I so terrible to warrant you to feel the need to create an entire persona to hide from me?"

Frowning, Sarah shook her head before he'd even finished his sentence. This time she looked directly at him when she spoke, "No, it was never like that. You were doing what you were supposed to do," she spoke honestly. "I figured you wouldn't want anything to do with me anyway and at the very least that it would give me time to prepare… After a while the Underground became more of a home to me than anything I'd ever known and I didn't care to risk disturbing the life I'd been given here."

Though Jareth was pleased he seemed to be making progress with her the subject matter was still a bit of a sore point for him and he'd had enough. "What are you working so diligently on?"

"Yes what are you working on dear Sarah of mine?"

Both Sarah and Jareth's heads shot up and towards at the source of the voice to find that Thevlin had found his way to the back of the library and was now leaning over the back of one of the large leather study chairs that sat nearby.

At the sight of him Sarah blushed furiously and pretended not to be giddy at the term of endearment he used. She greatly hoped that he hadn't heard too much of what had been said. Quickly she gathered up the discarded stack of papers so she would have something to busy herself with as she spoke.

Sarah straightened up in her chair and launched into a rather lengthy explanation of what the papers contained. A few weeks ago she had received notice from the court of Czar Windthorn of Murdoch that the Czar was interested in annexing a small portion of Thevlin's territory at the base of the mountains at the very north of the kingdom. Murdoch was very arid and dry making it difficult for its inhabitants to grow many of the fruits that others in the Underground were privileged to. Kenton, the Czar's son, would be coming with a small fortune to negotiate the terms of the trade.

While she spoke Jareth had balled his hands into fists and was glaring daggers which neither of the other room's occupants seemed to notice. He'd seen the way she had looked at Thevlin, how her cheeks had flushed with color and her eyes darted up at from behind her papers and through dark, plentiful lashes. Only half listening to what Sarah was explaining, Jareth quickly admonished himself for such foolish and brash feelings. If he was ever going to win Sarah's friendship, and with it her trust, he was going to have to ignore whatever reckless, impetuous reactions emerged. He wiped his face clean of any telling expressions, however he certainly was not going to let such ridiculous behavior continue nor was he going to forget what business had called him here in the first place, Sarah or no Sarah.

Upon finishing, Sarah looked to both of the brothers in turn. Jareth was looking at her with a displaced intensity that unnerved her a bit but she brushed aside the butterflies in her stomach, the ones she was sure were from the way that Thevlin's dark hair fell exquisitely into his eyes as he nodded slowly, and continued.

"Now Thevlin, I know that on the surface this seems like a more than fair trade but I think that if you ju-"

Jareth saw his opportunity and held up his hand to cut Sarah off. "What do you want to do, Brother? It is, after all, your judgment call as King."

"Well…" Thevlin started uneasily, "As far as I can tell… I mean, well…" He cleared his throat anxiously.

Jareth scowled as Thevlin looked to Sarah for council.

Sarah could see that Thevlin was lost and hoped that she could nudge him in the right direction. This deal seemed too good to be true. While she wasn't familiar with that portion of the kingdom she did know that their best fruit production was in the south and not the north. She handed him the papers and spoke carefully.

"Perhaps if you just took a closer look at the papers…" Sarah spoke slowly, surreptitiously shooting glances at Jareth to gauge his reaction. She didn't necessarily mind what Jareth was trying to accomplish, so long as Thevlin made the right choices of course.

Thevlin took the papers like a lifeline and seemed to consider them for a few minutes, or rather he shuffled them around and seemed to pretend to consider them as he wracked his brain for an answer.

Finally he spoke. "It seems to me that everything is in order." He looked to his older brother for approval and when Jareth nodded Thevlin seemed to heave a great sigh of relief. He beamed at Sarah and said, "Wonderful, Sarah would you draw up the appropriate paperwork?" As he handed back the documents.

Frowning, she took the papers and began to speak.

"I really don't know tha-"

"Great!" The King interjected and grinned again which alone could have stopped Sarah. He seemed uneasy though, as if he'd be asked to accomplish peace throughout the Underground next and hastily made an excuse to leave followed by a swift exit.

"You know this isn't right, Jareth."

Sarah had sunk back into her chair and was shaking her head. She dropped the reports deftly onto the desk top and shot accusatory looks at the King that remained before her.

"No," He started with a tone to match Sarah's look, "What isn't right is having a King that is so clueless about how his own country is run that he can't make simple diplomatic decisions. He needs to take responsibility."

With that Jareth left the library in a considerably foul mood leaving Sarah in frustrated silence. He would have Sarah's trust but he would not have it at the expense of his brother's kingdom. He too was a king and was certain that he knew what was best for his brother.

* * *

Sarah finished up her work and found Adeline in her apartments. As Adeline brushed out her long golden waves Sarah filled her in on every detail of the afternoon.

"This is quite the conundrum, Sarah," Adeline looked at her through the mirror, slowly nodding her head.

Sarah nodded thoughtfully. "I know, I'm not sure how best to tackle it either. I think I may need to corner Thevlin and convince him that this whole deal needs a deeper look but if he's not out riding he's wooing the latest bimbo an- What?" Sarah looked annoyed.

Adeline was laughing. It started as silent, body-shaking chortling and quickly dissolved into a helpless fit of giggles, her hairbrush forgotten in her lap. When she finally came up for air she wiped the tears from her eyes with the corner of her sleeve and sighed.

"Oh sweet, adorable Sarah, you poor poor thing."

Now Sarah was full out peeved but curious. She repeated her question exasperatedly. "What is it, Addie?"

Adeline cleared her throat and composed herself, "No, you're right. I think this matter does need further consideration. I'll get started on it straight away."

At this clear evasive action Sarah made to protest but was swept out the door by Adeline who clamored on and on about not wanting to be late for dinner though Sarah knew full well that they were not.

* * *

Dinner was awkward.

The kind of awkward that is almost painful to watch.

Almost.

The remarks were stale and intermittent at best. Adeline and Theodore kept quiet conversation on one end of the table as Thevlin did his best to keep the talk away from politics. Jareth on the other hand tried his very best to engage his brother on that very topic. Sarah reserved most of her comments, aside from attempts in vain to keep the chatter light.

"So," Sarah started lightly after several long moments of listening to silverware and glasses, "How is Lady Margaret?"

Thevlin looked confusedly up towards the ceiling as if trying to recall a face to go with the name. Jareth had difficultly hiding his disdain.

Sarah continued, "Lady Margaret, the one you had me send flowers to just this morning?"

"Oh, did I?" His face lit up with recognition and he nodded. "Oh yes I remember now."

Sarah waited for more but it did not come so she moved on. "I'll be heading into town tomorrow, is there anything that you need? You're more than welcome to accompany me."

She waited hopefully but Thevlin's reply was not what she'd hoped.

"I'm afraid that I have a hunt planned for tomorrow but I am expecting some pieces from the tailor if you'd be so kind as to retrieve them for me." He beamed at Sarah with his perfect teeth.

"Of course," Sarah sighed and pushed what was left of her food around on her plate.

"So Brother," Jareth spoke up, "you were at the recent summit, no?"

Thevlin shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

"Why yes, I was," he replied shortly as he reached for his water glass.

Jareth nodded, "Then perhaps you can tell me your opinion of Advisor Polten's position on the taxing of minor magical wells in order to provide supplemental care for the Mirror Makers of the Midland Forest?"

Thevlin choked on his water but quickly regained himself. "I'm not quite sure I made that particular meeting but I've heard that Advisor Polten is getting senile in his old age."

Jareth's eyebrows rose, "Really? Then you don't agree that it's a heinous misuse of magical resources?"

At this it was Sarah's turn to scoff and though she tried to hide it, it was too late and Jareth's eye focused on hers.

"You don't agree, Sarah? Advisor Polten is a very renowned scholar."

"I think that Advisor Polten likes to hear the sound of his own voice," she stated, "and that in lieu of the recent skirmishes between his patron's battalions and the Mirror Makers I wouldn't trust a single word out of his mouth on the topic." Defiantly Sarah stared straight back at Jareth but was not prepared for what came next.

"Well perhaps," Jareth countered coldly, "You should stick to sending flowers and picking up clothes from the tailor instead of pretending to fit into the political scene of the Underground, the sum of which you could not hope to understand."

The silence that followed was palpable but short-lived.

The color drained from Sarah's skin and she muttered a quick "excuse me" and threw her napkin to the table.

Adeline stood up and called after her, "Sarah, wait!" but Sarah waved her off and disappeared out the door, her skirts whooshing after her. Adeline shot Jareth a poisonous look but sank back down into her chair as the rest of them finished their meals in silence.

* * *

Jareth was furious with himself but there was hardly anything he could do about it right then and there. As soon as dinner was finished with though he went in search of Sarah; he had to make things right. He looked for her in the library but it was empty, dark, and cold. He found Adeline waiting for Sarah in her sitting room and when he tried to ask her where he might find Sarah she threw a pillow and some choice expletives after him. When he did not find her in the stables he went looking for her in the gardens.

Jareth has almost given up when he heard soft sniffling coming from beneath the cover of a lone willow tree on the shore of the lake. He plucked a daisy from the side of the path and ducked between the curtains of branches.

He found Sarah sitting on the trunk of the tree as it dipped low over the smooth water. She was staring out at the water and Jareth could see her tear-stained cheeks shimmering despite the darkness. His heart wrenched painfully in his chest. He stepped closer to her and she looked back over her shoulder. When she saw that it was him she quickly turned away again and unsuccessfully tried to wipe away the evidence of her melancholy.

"What do you want," she asked, feebly trying to steady her voice and still refusing to face him.

Jareth held out his handkerchief and for a long moment neither of them moved.

"I came to apologize."

Sarah tilted her head to the side just far enough to see his face. After gauging his sincerity to be genuine she took the cloth that Jareth still offered and wiped her eyes but said nothing.

Taking that as a good sign Jareth continued.

"It was rather uncalled for, that I should be so harsh with you. It is in my nature to be that way when dealing with politics and I forgot with whom I was speaking. In truth, upon further reflection you have a much more cultivated knowledge than I would have anticipated. It was not my intention to insult you and for that I am truly sorry."

Nodding thoughtfully Sarah turned and regarded Jareth with a rather serious expression on her face. He didn't dare say anything else.

A moment later Sarah held out her hand and said very simply, "Help me down, would you?"

Jareth stepped in quickly and offered his hand. Sarah took it gratefully and stepped down from her perch, half-heartedly contemplating the feeling of the cool, dry leather on her finger tips. Once on level ground she looked up at Jareth and smiled a little before remembering herself.

Sarah drew her hand back and uncomfortably placed it in her other one. Nervously she fiddled with her hands when she finally spoke.

"I accept your apology. I understand what you're trying to do but we'll need to work together to accomplish anything. Besides, it would be eternally tiring to constantly fight with you. You're far too good at it." At this Sarah smirked and Jareth let out a chuckle.

At this point Jareth somberly looked down into Sarah's eyes and she realized that they stood uncomfortably close. Before she could protest Jareth slipped the daisy beneath her chocolate-colored locks and tucked it behind her ear.

"Thank you," Sarah murmured. Jareth looked as if he had more to say but Sarah's nerves were already on edge.

She side-stepped Jareth and did her best to add brevity to the moment.

"It's getting late," she spoke quickly as she started up the path, "and I have to be in town early tomorrow for a meeting with the town council and I'll need to stop at the tailors of course so I should get to bed."

Jareth started after her and chose his words carefully, "May I accompany you? I too have business with the tailor and I would greatly appreciate any insight to the inner workings of my brother's kingdom."

Sarah wracked her brain for a reason to say no but upon coming up with nothing replied uneasily, "I don't see why not. Is nine o'clock okay?"

Jareth beamed at her like he knew something that she didn't.

"Perfect."


End file.
